Bass Pro Shops is privately owned, and the controlling owner is Johnny (John L.) Morris , the company’s billionaire founder and longtime chief executive.

Who owns Bass Pro Shops?

  • Bass Pro Shops operates as a privately held company under the entity BPS Direct, LLC.
  • Johnny Morris is described as the founder, majority owner, and CEO of Bass Pro Shops.
  • There is no public stock listing, so outside ownership is not spread among public shareholders the way it would be with a typical publicly traded retailer.

Quick company background

  • Johnny Morris started Bass Pro Shops in 1972, selling fishing tackle out of the back of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri.
  • The brand has grown into a large outdoor retail and tourism enterprise with nearly 200 stores and marine centers across North America, plus related businesses like White River Marine Group and resort properties.

Related brands and acquisitions

  • Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s, another major outdoor retailer, in a multibillion‑dollar deal finalized in 2017, bringing both brands under Morris’s leadership.
  • Through White River Marine Group, the company also owns several boat brands such as Tracker, Ranger, Nitro, Triton, and others.

In short, when people ask “who owns Bass Pro Shops,” they are almost always referring to Johnny Morris, the founder and majority owner who still leads the company today.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.